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Mario Balotelli's assist helps Milan rescue a point against Roma
Construction workers in 'walk-out' at 2014 World Cup stadium in Manaus
Football Association's Heather Rabbatts to head equality panel
Napoli offer Liverpool's Daniel Agger a reunion with Rafael Benítez
Chelsea set sights on Internazionale midfielder Fredy Guarín for £15m
Pellegrini: Barcelona 'will be very concerned' about Manchester City
Darren Fletcher says he's 'back for good. It's onwards and upwards'
Met police's Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe referred to IPCC over Hillsborough role
Cardiff's Tan rebuffs Mackay's request for transfer funds
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain relishes chance to take on Bayern Munich
Luis Suárez's centre-stage displays prove Rodgers right over Carroll | Andy Hunter
Sherwood handed Tottenham chance as Villas-Boas is sacked
A-League tactics: Perth's frustration game
Dominic Fifield on André Villas-Boas
Everton lose on-loan Gerard Deulofeu for a month with hamstring tear
Leicester bullish about quarter-final prospects against Manchester City
Simunic hit with 10-match ban
Champions League draw: Manchester City to play Barcelona, Arsenal face Bayern Munich – video
Zola resigns as Watford manager
The Fiver | Shed-loads of money for old rope that would be the envy of Sven
Sacked Tottenham manager André Villas-Boas: I am not a quitter - video
Football Weekly: André Villas-Boas sacked after Liverpool run riot at Spurs
Who should Tottenham Hotspur appoint to replace André Villas-Boas? – poll
Rafael Benítez lets headlines speak for themselves as Napoli see off Inter
Manchester City must watch defence despite big Arsenal win, says Manuel Pellegrini – video

Mario Balotelli's assist helps Milan rescue a point against Roma

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:49 PM PST

• Milan gain 2-2 draw in Serie A at the San Siro
• Roma slip five points behind the Serie A leaders Juventus

Sulley Muntari salvaged a point for Milan with a second-half equaliser in a 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Monday that saw visiting Roma slip five points behind the Serie A leaders Juventus.

The return of Francesco Totti after two months out was not enough for Rudi Garcia's unbeaten Roma, who are on 38 points and three clear of third-placed Napoli. Massimiliano Allegri's Milan are 10th on 19 points.

Roma twice allowed Milan to catch them on the counterattack and come back from a goal down with Muntari levelling for good in the 77th minute after taking Mario Balotelli's pass and firing home at the near post.

Mattia Destro had put Roma 1-0 up with his second goal in as many games in the 13th minute, with Cristian Zapata equalising in the 29th when he met Muntari's flick on from a corner with a clumsy header on to his knee and past Morgan De Sanctis.

Kevin Strootman restored Roma's advantage from the penalty spot five minutes after the break.

While Roma dropped precious points, they will be looking to the match at Juventus after the mid-season break on 5 January to apply pressure on their title rivals, providing Atalanta do not spring any surprises next weekend.

Construction workers in 'walk-out' at 2014 World Cup stadium in Manaus

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:44 PM PST

• Safety row stops all work on Brazil stadium, reports say
• England due to play their World Cup opener in Manaus

News reports say construction workers have walked off the job at the World Cup stadium in Brazil's jungle city of Manaus after a worker fell 115 feet to his death. The stoppage has brought all work on the stadium to a halt, it was reported

A labour union representing construction workers was reported through the G1 Internet portal as saying the stadium's estimated 1,800 workers walked off the job early on Monday in protest against safety conditions and what they described as pressure to speed up the project.

Amazonas state government officials have denied applying pressure to accelerate the work.

The work stoppage follows a Sunday decision by a Manaus court that froze work in all areas where labourers need to be high above the ground.

England are due to play their opening 2014 World Cup match in the stadium in Manaus. AP

Football Association's Heather Rabbatts to head equality panel

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:38 PM PST

• IAB aims to widen inclusion and increase diversity in football
• Former player Graeme Le Saux also part of 10-strong group

Heather Rabbatts is to head up a 10-strong group at the Football Association aiming to increase inclusion in the game.

The make-up of the new Inclusion Advisory Board – which will direct equality matters – has been revealed ahead of its first meeting in January 2014.

As well as providing guidance on equality within the game, the IAB will also monitor the delivery of Football's Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan for 2013-2017.

The IAB aims to widen diversity in the sport as well as clarify anti-discrimination regulations and sanctions.

Rabbatts, an FA board member, said in a statement on the FA website: "This group is vital for meeting the future aims and ambitions of a modern FA.

"We believe that we have a breadth of representation, skills and experiences that will give direction and guidance for the game."

Rabbatts will be joined by former England and Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux and ex-Derby player Michael Johnson.

The remaining members of the group are Shelley Alexander, co-founder of Women in Football, which seeks to support females working in football, and Joyce Cook, the founding managing director of the Centre for Access to Football in Europe and chair of Level Playing Field.

Rimla Akhtar, chair of the Muslim Women's Sports Foundation since 2005, and FA Council member Thura Win also join the panel.

Rishi Jain is Kick It Out Football League Clubs development officer, Edward Lord OBE is the chair of the London FA Inclusion Advisory Group with Peter Clayton an FA Council member.

The Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan for 2013-2017 aims to tackle under-representation as well as creating clarity around regulations and sanctions related to discriminatory behaviour.

There will also be encouragement of reporting and handling of discrimination and increasing the understanding and awareness of equality and inclusion.

Napoli offer Liverpool's Daniel Agger a reunion with Rafael Benítez

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:35 PM PST

• Benítez wants to sign Dane on loan in January
• Mamadou Sakho preferred to Agger against Spurs

Rafael Benítez wants to capitalise on Daniel Agger's predicament at Liverpool and take the defender on loan to Napoli in January.

Representatives of the Italian club contacted Liverpool on Monday regarding a temporary deal for the 29-year-old when the transfer window reopens. The Denmark international, who was brought to Anfield from Brondby by Benítez in 2006, recently lost his place at the heart of Liverpool's defence and Napoli have moved quickly to test Brendan Rodgers' resolve to keep the centre-half.

Rodgers made Agger vice-captain in the summer after Barcelona's interest in signing the defender on a permanent basis but he has been the one to miss out as the Liverpool manager continues his search for a settled partnership in central defence.

Kolo Touré was selected in preference to Agger for the Premier League defeat at Hull, only for the Dane to make an immediate return for the 5-1 win over Norwich. Illness then cost Agger his place against West Ham, giving the £18m summer signing Mamadou Sakho the opportunity to stake his claim. The French international retained his place for Sunday's 5-0 rout of Tottenham.

Whether Liverpool will be receptive to a loan deal for Agger is uncertain. The influential defender has attracted interest from the Spanish champions and Manchester City in recent seasons and a permanent offer could yet be forthcoming.

Andy Hunter

Chelsea set sights on Internazionale midfielder Fredy Guarín for £15m

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• £12m bid has already been rebuffed by Inter
• Mourinho also hopes to add Kurt Zouma to his squad

Chelsea hope to secure the Colombia midfielder Fredy Guarín from Internazionale for around £15m next month as José Mourinho seeks to add to his midfield options and maintain the team's title challenge over the second half of the campaign.

An initial offer of nearer £12m has already been rebuffed by the Italian club for the 27-year-old, with Chelsea understood to be preparing an improved bid to deflect interest from other elite English clubs in the player. Guarín is a versatile midfielder who can operate either centrally or from the right, his career having already taken in spells at Saint-Etienne and Porto before his move to San Siro in 2012. He has accumulated 47 caps en route.

While Chelsea are well stocked for creative attacking midfielders, Guarín's arrival would serve to take some of the strain from the likes of Ramires and Frank Lampard, who have been used extensively this season in the wake of the serious cruciate knee ligament injury suffered by Marco van Ginkel earlier in the campaign.

It would also allow the unsettled Kevin de Bruyne to depart the club in January, either on long-term loan or permanently, with the Bundesliga clubs Wolfsburg and Schalke, as well as Atlético Madrid, keen to take the Belgium international off Chelsea's hands.

Mourinho has been coy about his club's desire to add to their squad next month and does not expect heavy investment given the Londoners' desire to comply with new Uefa financial fair play regulations. However, he does hope to secure the young French defender Kurt Zouma from Saint-Etienne in addition to Guarín.

Dominic Fifield

Pellegrini: Barcelona 'will be very concerned' about Manchester City

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Four-times European Cup winners in decline, manager says
• Lionel Messi holds no fears for Manchester City

Manuel Pellegrini has claimed that Barcelona will be concerned at drawing Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, because the Catalan clubs are not as strong as they were a few years ago and his own side showed their strength with last week's win at Bayern Munich.

The tie means Txiki Begiristain, City's director of football, and the chief executive, Ferran Soriano, will face their former club for the first time since leaving. Soriano was at Barça for five years before his resignation in 2008, having been one of several directors to offer a vote of no confidence in Joan Laporta, the then president. Begiristain departed in 2010 when Laporta did.

The opening leg against the four-times European Cup winners is at the Etihad Stadium, where City are in rampant form, on 18 February. The return at the Camp Nou is on 12 March.

"I think they will be very concerned," Pellegrini said. "Not only because we beat Bayern Munich. They know Manchester City is a strong team and it will be difficult for them. Barcelona is not the team it was two years ago. We will see how they arrive in February."

Asked why are they are not the same side, the City manager said: "I don't know exactly what happened inside Barcelona. They changed three managers in the last three years, maybe the performances of the players are not the same, maybe the players are older. There are a lot of reasons why teams change their performance. They continue to be a very good team. Two years ago they were more unbeatable than today."

Lionel Messi, the four-times world player of the year, holds no fears for Pellegrini. "It's not impossible but difficult. Last year, Messi played against Bayern Munich and they lost that," he said of the German side's 7-0 trouncing of Barcelona in the semi-final.

City have become an imperious force at the Etihad, with Saturday's 6-3 humiliation of Arsenal there following a 4-1 victory over United, a 6-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, the 7-0 rout of Norwich City and the 4-0 defeat of Newcastle United.

Pellegrini would not be drawn on whether the record will scare Barcelona. "I suppose they know about that but you can't always expect to score five, six, seven goals at home," he said.

Gerardo "Tata" Martino, Pellegrini's opposite number, insisted that City would not have wanted to meet his side. "I imagine that they won't be happy to have got Barcelona, either," he said. "The most important thing is to be in good shape when we get to February. Sometimes, the team you get is one team in December and another one by February. The team is the same but they can be in different form."

Pellegrini has had success in the competition when at Villarreal and Málaga, reaching a semi-final and two quarter-finals. He can also point to success in La Liga, winning at the Camp Nou. "With Villarreal we won there. I finished second after Barcelona one season in Spain."

Begiristain said: "I would have preferred a different opponent but I am very happy to go back to Barcelona and see old friends again. They are both teams that play good football so a spectacle is guaranteed."

Pellegrini responded to the criticism he drew after his miscalculation of the match situation at Bayern. "I recognised I made an error, a normal error because I repeat I thought we needed a three-goal difference," he said. "But to have consequences in the future, I don't think there are any because we tried to scored a fourth goal."

He denied that having to face Barcelona, an easier second-placed opponent, was actually a consequence. "Not of not knowing," said Pellegrini. "I made a mistake but we couldn't score four goals – its different. A mistake would be if we thought three goals was enough. If we tried to score five or four and couldn't do it, it's not a mistake."

The injury suffered by Sergio Agüero, who has 19 goals in 20 appearances, is a blow before the festive period. "I think he will be at least one month out," Pellegrini said. The forward tweeted: "It's confirmed – my calf injury will leave me out for at least a month. The good news is recovery work starts today! We started with therapeutic massages on the area and some bike work. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the support!"

Jamie Jackson

Darren Fletcher says he's 'back for good. It's onwards and upwards'

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Manchester United midfielder has recovered from operation
• Ulcerative colitis stopped him playing, leading to surgery

Darren Fletcher has spoken of the dark days of the illness that required make-or-break surgery to save his career, but the midfielder now believes he is "back for good".

Fletcher made a first appearance for Manchester United since Boxing Day as a 70th-minute replacement in Sunday's 3-0 win at Aston Villa, having recovered from ulcerative colitis, a debilitating bowel condition. The illness has plagued Fletcher for the past two years, with him first having to take a break from football in December 2011. He made a return in September of last season but managed only 13 outings before, after all other treatments had failed, opting to have surgery in a final bid to save his career.

Asked if there had been dark days, Fletcher said: "Yes. That was ultimately the reason I went for the operation. There were days when the illness was getting the better of me. I couldn't leave the house. I couldn't take my kids to the park. Simple stuff. I couldn't go for a meal with my wife, just because of the nature of the illness. There was the exhaustion side of it as well. It was proving difficult. I always had a belief that one of the medications would work. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

"There was always the option of surgery. I had to be ready for it. Ultimately, that day came. There were no guarantees with the operation. Fortunately I had a fantastic surgeon – Professor Sagar – without him I would not be here today. I have made a comeback in the Premier League. I made the decision at the right time and it has all worked out.

"If the operation was not a success there was no way I would be able to play football. My everyday life would be very difficult if it wasn't a success. I had to be mentally prepared for the challenge. It was tough. It was two or three operations not just one. It is psychologically challenging dealing with the operation as well but I couldn't live my life at all. I needed something done. That made the decision easier. I got the option of it 18 months to a year before I eventually got it. At that time there was still a chance of me making a recovery or finding the medication that worked. I went through all the solutions but eventually there were none available."

Fletcher drew strength from his determination to play for United again. "I am always thinking about football," he said. "I know people will say I should think about other things – and I was thinking about my children, my wife and family – but right there, right beside it was football. I worked hard to be a professional footballer. I was doing this operation, not just to have a quality of life but also to get back playing football."

Now, following the three separate procedures Fletcher no longer has the illness. "I do not have ulcerative colitis," he said. "I have come through that now. I am leading a normal life. It has all been a success. I am just like anyone else."

Fletcher can remember the moment when he believed the nightmare was finally over. "Yes. There was a day in about May when we said: 'This is it.' Once I came out of that operation it was going to be: 'This has either worked or it hasn't,'" he said. "It was a very emotional day. There was a lot of fear and anxiety and a lot of buildup. I was in the hands of an unbelievable surgeon. I put all my trust in him. He was confident, as long as I did everything right. He was confident all the tests were right. He was fantastic. That moment came. It was such a relief."

Having managed only 28 appearances for United and Scotland over the past two seasons, Fletcher can focus on being permanently available. "I'm back for good. This is hopefully the game which means I'm back now. Hopefully there will be no setbacks with the health issues. I seem to have come through that, thank God. It's onwards and upwards."

United's win was their first in the league since early November to end a run of two draws and two defeats. The champions are 10 points behind Arsenal and seven behind Manchester City, who occupy the final Champions League berth, as David Moyes's side travel to Stoke City for Wednesday evening'sCapital One Cup quarter-final.

"We have got to get to the semi-final of the League Cup and go on a run and be in contention come new year,"Fletcher said. "We have to be in a position where it is still possible. That is all we can do now. It has to be a winning run, not an undefeated run. We need to get back to going on winning runs and put ourselves in a position where people are saying we are still there. It is dangerous for everyone else if we are still there."

Jamie Jackson

Met police's Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe referred to IPCC over Hillsborough role

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 01:59 PM PST

Hogan-Howe was inspector with South Yorkshire police at time of disaster at Sheffield's Hillsborough football ground in 1989

The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, has been formally referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for investigation over his role in the Hillsborough disaster. The IPCC said the mayor's office for policing and crime had referred the complaints.

Meanwhile, a court has heard further allegations that South Yorkshire police tampered with evidence from the disaster. Pete Weatherby QC, representing 22 bereaved families affiliated to the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, told a pre-inquest hearing that film of events on the day, taken by the police with hand-held cameras, has an "unexplained gap" of 10 minutes. "I stress, there may be integrity issues here," he said.

A further complaint about Hogan-Howe was made by Paul Spearritt, whose older brother, Adam, was 14 when he and 95 others were killed in the crush in the Leppings Lane "pens" at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground on April 15 1989. The Spearritt family were distressed that Adam was incorrectly included in a list of people "safe and well" read out on the evening of the disaster by a senior South Yorkshire police officer at a Sheffield boys' club where anxious friends and relatives were waiting for news.

Hogan-Howe was at the time an inspector with South Yorkshire police, and served as a senior officer at the boys' club. The IPCC said it would investigate whether Hogan-Howe read out the list, as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged police misconduct leading to the deaths, and the subsequent alleged police "cover-up".

After the Hillsborough Independent Panel published its report last year, Hogan-Howe said he had originally made a statement to the Taylor inquiry, then declined to change his statement when later contacted by a police officer. It appears Hogan-Howe never made a statement about his actions at Hillsborough. The IPCC said it "must now decide how this matter should be investigated."

Hogan-Howe has said that he will "co-operate fully with any inquiries from the IPCC".

Weatherby's assertion that 10 minutes of video footage, which could have included the build-up to the fatal crush, are missing, followed concerns he previously expressed that South Yorkshire police may have tampered with film. Weatherby asked the coroner, Lord Justice Goldring, to give permission for the families' appointed expert to examine the tapes forensically.

The IPCC told the coroner that 240 South Yorkshire police officers' accounts of the disaster were subsequently altered. Thirteen officers, all retired and not suspected of misconduct, are refusing to co-operate with the investigation. The IPCC has interviewed 143 officers so far.

The new inquest is due to start in Warrington on 31 March next year. The original inquest's verdict of accidental death was quashed last December after more than 20 years of campaigning by the families.

David Conn

Cardiff's Tan rebuffs Mackay's request for transfer funds

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 01:22 PM PST

• Owner issues statement citing £15m overspend last summer
• 'Not a single penny will be made available in January'

Malky Mackay has been slapped down by Cardiff City after saying he hoped to bring three new players to the club in the January transfer window.

The chief executive Simon Lim released a statement in which he said the owner Vincent Tan was jolted by the manager's announcement that he would seek backing from the board for strengthening.

Lim said it was Tan's view that the club overspent in the transfer market by £15m before the current season.

"Tan Sri Vincent Tan was extremely upset to read quotes from the manager concerning the possibility of new recruits, before he had been informed whether funds would be made available," Lim said. "He believes that doing so unfairly raises supporter expectations, placing unnecessary pressure on the club.

"His view is that due to the funds already committed, including the originally authorised summer transfer budget of £35m that rose to £50m in total, including add-ons, the manager has been fully supported.

"The overspending of £15m has upset Tan Sri greatly, resulting in the removal on Iain Moody as head of recruitment. As such, he has stated that not a single penny will be made available in January.

"Having been the highest-spending promoted club and the seventh-highest spender in the Premier League last summer, the owner believes that the manager has been given the best possible chance of retaining our Premier League status."

Cardiff brought players including Steven Caulker, Gary Medel, Kevin Theophile-Catherine and Andreas Cornelius to the club during the summer.

Mackay's team stand four points outside the relegation zone, and Mackay was hoping he would receive the board's cheque-book backing midway through the campaign.

The fact Malaysian businessman Tan, through Lim, has indicated that will not be happening may be of some concern to the Scot, in his third season at the club.

Speaking at the weekend, Mackay said: "It would be great if we can bring in three quality additions to the squad. I would look to strengthen all three departments in terms of a defender, a midfielder and an attacking player.

"I will talk to my chairman who will then discuss it with his board of directors and our owner and I will take my lead from them.

"It's up to them then what financially they want to spend in January. I've got my lists of players, whether they be permanent targets or loans for various positions. We've got to try and strengthen again.

"We are a first-time club so to speak. Everyone barring two other clubs has got a massive head start on us in terms of quality.

"They might only need to bring in one or two over a season. We had to bring in a group of eight players which was going to give us the chance to survive.

"You have a choice, do you invest knowing you have a really good chance of staying up or do you invest knowing you might go down and then have to build again?"

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain relishes chance to take on Bayern Munich

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 01:09 PM PST

• Arsenal face holders in a repeat of last season's showdown
• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: I would rather have drawn Zenit

Arsenal paid for finishing second in their Champions League group by drawing Bayern Munich in the last 16, in a repeat of last season's meeting at the same stage.

Earlier this year, Bayern defeated Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium 3-1 but just scraped through to the quarter-finals after losing 2-0 at the Allianz Arena, en route to winning the trophy by beating Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

While Chelsea have a tricky tie in their meeting with Galatasaray and Manchester United will feel content at having to play Olympiakos, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain recalled the "good memories" of taking on Bayern. He said: "You see the likes of the Barcelonas and Real Madrids and you always want to play against them and, obviously, Bayern Munich too."

The attacker, who hopes to be fit again in time for the tie, added: "We managed to get a good result away at Bayern last season so that brings back good memories. If you're going to do well in the competition you've got to beat the best teams. Obviously the big teams create the bigger atmosphere around the stadiums."

Arsenal will host Bayern in the opening leg, to be played on 19 February before the return match in Germany on 11 March. Oxlade-Chamberlain said he relished the mood of a big European night. "I remember before I came to Arsenal I was at the Barcelona game at the Emirates [in February 2011] and I just remember the atmosphere there was unbelievable, so when the big teams do come into town it does create a massive buzz."

Arsenal's 2-0 loss at Napoli in their final group game ensured they finished second in their group, although Arsène Wenger's side can take further encouragement from how Manchester City beat Bayern 3-2 in Munich last week, after coming back from being 2-0 down inside 12 minutes.

Bayern, however, do not expect everything to go their way. Their defender Jérôme Boateng admitted: "This is the worst opponent we could have got. They'll be highly motivated after last year and it will be two very intense games."

The Bayern president, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, concurred. "There were less difficult opponents in the draw and I would have rather been drawn against Zenit St Petersburg," he said. "But in a draw you can't make any wishes. You can't change it. We know that [Arsenal] are an opponent you need to have a lot of respect for. And that we will have. We have to produce two good games."

Boateng's captain, Philipp Lahm, was more positive, stating he was looking forward to facing his Germany team-mates, Per Mertesacker and Mesut Özil. "It is a good omen, but a tough opponent," he said. "It's nice that you meet other players from the German national team. It was the toughest draw we could have got, the hardest of the second-placed teams. They strengthened this summer, especially with Mesut. We want to get to the quarter-finals and then it does not matter who you play."

While Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, believes Barcelona are not as strong as they were two seasons ago, Chelsea's tie with Roberto Mancini's Galatasaray side will mean a return to Stamford Bridge for Didier Drogba. The Ivorian took the final penalty that secured the Blues' first European Cup, in the shoot-out that decided the 2012 final against Bayern.

He said: "What a draw. I'm the luckiest man in the Champions League. I'll play both games at home. See you in a few months."

Mikel John Obi said: "I'm sure he will text very soon, he's probably having a drink after seeing the draw, but it will be great to have him back. We shouldn't get carried away about him coming back; he is a player that was here for eight years, he won major trophies, he's a big player with a big personality.

"Obviously he had to move on but Chelsea continue, we have to win games, he's coming here with his new club, Galatasaray, who we want to beat, so we shouldn't get carried away about him coming back, we want to win the game."

Galatasaray, who are third in the Turkish championship, lost both games when the sides met previously, during the 1999-00 group stage. But Mikel believes that after a Wesley Sneijder goal beat Juventus in their final group game to knock the Italians out and secure progress to the last 16, Galatasaray are a tough prospect.

"They are a great team," the midfielder said. "Didier, Wesley, they have a good team and they have Roberto Mancini who is trying to implement his philosophy and change the way they play. It will be tough but it's a game we're looking forward to. It will be good to meet old rivals, who you have played against in the past, as well as old team-mates."

Chelsea travel to the Ali Sami Yen for the first leg on 26 February with the return three weeks later.

United are also away at Olympiakos in the opening game, on 25 February before hosting the Greek champions.

Jamie Jackson

Luis Suárez's centre-stage displays prove Rodgers right over Carroll | Andy Hunter

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 01:02 PM PST

By disposing of Andy Carroll, Brendan Rodgers enabled Liverpool to build their game around Suárez, who has thrived

It was, as Brendan Rodgers put it, an honour for Luis Suárez to captain Liverpool in what proved to be André Villas-Boas's swan song at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. And much more besides. It was recognition of his status as the club's finest talent, reward for his reaction to a thwarted transfer saga and, perhaps cynically, part of a concerted effort to avoid a repeat next summer. Liverpool cannot be faulted for indulging Suárez on that score.

The award of the captaincy in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard and the out-of-favour Daniel Agger, Liverpool's vice-captain, underlined the extent of Suárez's rehabilitation since accusing Rodgers of breaking promises over his future only four months earlier. His response was another illustration of why he is being recognised as simply one of the leading strikers in the world, rather than a world-class talent carrying too much baggage, as Liverpool reinforced their Champions League credentials at White Hart Lane. It also demonstrated why Anfield officials wish to secure him on a new long-term contract before the season is over.

Suárez's brace in the 5-0 rout took his tally for the season to 17 goals in 11 appearances, an average of 1.54 per game. The 26-year-old has scored more goals in the 12 weeks he has been available to Liverpool than 10 of the Premier League's 20 clubs have produced since the campaign began on 17 August. And to think there were question marks over Suárez's finishing during the first 18 months of his Liverpool career.

The Uruguay international's return under Kenny Dalglish was hardly a cause for despair, four in the 13 games that followed his £23.5m arrival from Ajax in January 2010 followed by 17 goals in 40 appearances in 2011-12 as he settled into the Premier League. But the trajectory soared to 30 under Rodgers last season and, were he to maintain his current remarkable ratio over the final 22 league games, Suárez would break the 50-goal barrier.

Rodgers gave his explanation for the striker's outstanding form and finishing before West Ham United's recent visit to Anfield, pinpointing the bold decision to off‑load Liverpool's £35m record signing, Andy Carroll, and construct a team around Suárez at the start of his tenure as the turning point. The Liverpool manager said: "My thinking was that if Luis is playing with a big guy he is playing off the second ball, and his anticipation skills are very good. But I just felt that wouldn't benefit him because when you play with a big target man it is hard not to make that the focal point of your team.

"Removing that means you have to connect your game better through the lines. Possession is not good enough on its own, you have to penetrate. With a player like Luis, who is always on the move in between spaces and in behind, that serves him best."

That, however, does not address Suárez's impressive reaction to being refused a move away from Anfield this summer. Premier League stars were accustomed to getting their own way, and sulking if refused, but Suárez's commitment has been faultless while his temperament is reflected in a disciplinary record this season of one booking during a frenetic Merseyside derby. If he is playing for a move to a Champions League club, the evidence so far indicates he wants to take Liverpool with him.

With all due respect to Arsène Wenger and Arsenal, Suárez must have reflected on why the Premier League leaders – whom Liverpool can overtake with victory over Cardiff City on Saturday – were the only club to make an official bid for his services in the summer and realised that change was in order. As Gerrard said just days before the striker pleaded for a transfer in an interview with the Guardian: "Move on if you want further down the line, but a player of his calibre should wait for the big one to come to him. He deserves to play for one of the best teams in the world, a Barcelona or a Real Madrid. They will come calling for him again. I am hoping, from a biased point of view, that he gives us another year and shows us the form he did last season. Maybe it will be time for him to go next year or the year after. I don't think it is the right time for him to go just yet."

The Liverpool captain has been unerringly accurate in his statements relating to Suárez's career and value to Rodgers' team, saying in August, for example, that: "What we can achieve this season depends on whether he stays or goes."

On Sunday, in the Sky studio at White Hart Lane, Gerrard admitted: "We're lucky to have him and we need to enjoy him while he's here because if he keeps performances up like this, I hate to say it, but the big guns are going to be sniffing which is what we don't want." Liverpool are striving to ensure that is one Gerrard prediction that bucks the trend.

Andy Hunter

Sherwood handed Tottenham chance as Villas-Boas is sacked

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 12:56 PM PST

• Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey will assist new man
• First game in charge against West Ham on Wednesday

Tim Sherwood will have an opportunity to stake his claim to succeed André Villas-Boas at Tottenham Hotspur after the club turned to their highly rated technical coordinator to oversee first-team affairs following the dismissal of the Portuguese.

Villas-Boas was dismissed in the wake of the home trouncing by Liverpool on Sunday with the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, unconvinced he could deliver Champions League qualification this season despite the club having spent £107m in the summer to revamp the squad.

He departed after 18 months in charge and with the team only five points adrift of fourth place but the psychological effects of heavy defeats by West Ham, Manchester City and then Liverpool had eroded the board's faith in his ability.

Sherwood, a former Tottenham midfielder, was a member of the coaching staff during the Harry Redknapp era and was under consideration for the role of technical director over the summer before Levy turned instead to Franco Baldini, then of Roma.

The club felt the 44-year-old Sherwood's talents lay more in coaching and he was duly granted the title of technical coordinator to oversee the under-21 development squad and youth set-up. His impressive progress with the junior sides has been noted, with Levy content to lean on him in the short term.

He will be assisted by Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey for the immediate future, starting with visit of West Ham in the Capital One Cup quarter-final and Sunday's trip to Southampton, while Steffen Freund and Tony Parks will continue as part of the coaching staff. With a burgeoning reputation Sherwood may become a contender to take the job, at least on an interim basis to the end of the season, if his initial stint proves successful.

Levy is considering his options and will sound out more experienced figures but he is still to determine the best approach, with many of those under consideration for the long term potentially out of reach until the summer at the earliest.

Principal among them is Fabio Capello, who is contracted with Russia until the World Cup finals but still owns a property in London and has worked regularly with Baldini throughout his career. The 67-year-old Italian would not represent a progressive appointment, however, and has not ventured into club management since leaving Real Madrid in 2007 prior to a four-year stint in charge of England, but he has the reputation and authority to take over at White Hart Lane. Capello was actually at Sunday's game as a pundit for Sky Italia when Liverpool won 5-0 to condemn Villas-Boas to the sack.

There is admiration, too, for Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino, though prising him away from the south coast club's ambitious chairman, Nicola Cortese, would be easier said than done. Luciano Spalletti, currently at Zenit St Petersburg, FC Basel's Murat Yakin – Baldini was in Basel for the Swiss club's Champions League victory over Chelsea last month – and Swansea's Michael Laudrup would also be considered.

Guus Hiddink, who had been favoured by the board as a natural interim appointment having fulfilled similar duties with Chelsea in 2009, is understood to have indicated a reluctance to take up the position. He will take up a permanent role with the Holland set-up after the World Cup.

Villas-Boas' dismissal was confirmed in a brief meeting with Levy at the club's Enfield training ground , after discussions between the chairman and the owner, Joe Lewis, overnight. The Portuguese had envisaged taking training as normal, having spoken at length with Levy and Baldini the previous evening, and had even arrived at the complex with Christmas presents for members of staff. He left towards the end of the afternoon – along with his staff José Mário Rocha, Luís Martins and Daniel Sousa – having said his farewells to the players, with his exit technically "by mutual consent and in the interests of all parties".

His team sit seventh in the top flight but the brutal nature of their defeats by West Ham, Manchester City and now Liverpool had undermined faith in his ability.

Levy and Lewis had been angered initially by the 3-0 home defeat by West Ham in October, a result which prompted an intense examination of Villas-Boas' suitability to fulfil longer-term ambitions. The hierarchy had sanctioned a huge spend over the summer on seven new players, including three club record fees, reinvesting the money raised by Gareth Bale's sale to Real Madrid and more.

Yet the new personnel, while enjoying fine reputations on paper, have taken time to adapt to the Premier League and the team's stodgy and conservative play has failed to enthuse those in the boardroom. They have scored only 15 goals in 16 league games, a reality that has overshadowed their serene progress in the Europa League which has led to a knockout tie with the former Spurs manager, Juande Ramos, who is now with the Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

The Portuguese was contracted until the summer of 2015 and following his brief and unhappy tenure at Chelsea, which ended abruptly in March 2012, may now seek to re-establish his reputation abroad. "The club can announce that agreement has been reached with head coach, André Villas-Boas, for the termination of his services," read the club's statement. "The decision was by mutual consent and in the interests of all parties."

Dominic Fifield

A-League tactics: Perth's frustration game

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 12:47 PM PST

Kate Cohen: Perth Glory's inability to construct a regular, consistent threat on the counter attack has hurt them in recent games

Kate Cohen

Dominic Fifield on André Villas-Boas

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 12:45 PM PST

Former Chelsea manager, perhaps lucky to get another top English club so soon, could not make £107m player outlay pay

In the end it was appropriate that Luis Suárez should administer the last rites to André Villas-Boas at Tottenham. Here was a player Liverpool had fought tooth and nail to retain last summer, dismissing firm offers from Arsenal and overtures from Real Madrid, to convince the striker, against his better judgment, that his immediate future lay on Merseyside.

Spurs had faced a similar dilemma over Gareth Bale, whose instinct was to up sticks for Spain. They eventually relented and cashed in to the tune of £86m. At the time the reinvestment of those funds in seven signings seemed exciting, even shrewd, though the sight of Suárez ripping the new brigade to shreds on Sunday told a very different story.

Villas-Boas has time now to ponder if this all boils down to Bale. Relieved of his duties at White Hart Lane, his reputation in the Premier League about as persuasive as Tottenham's backline, the Portuguese retreats scarred by another brush with management in this country.

At Chelsea he had failed to convince seasoned performers there that he was the man to hoist them back into Premier League and other contention. At Spurs he was ultimately undermined by an inability to coax immediate form from a swath of recruits, talented players with no experience of English domestic football. The sheer scale of the overhaul was overwhelming and the "dramatic changes" to which he referred on Sunday all stemmed from Bale's sale.

The chairman, Daniel Levy, clearly thought Villas-Boas had constructed a squad capable of challenging for the title, though the Portuguese might argue the transition was too radical, the upheaval too dramatic. He had spoken of the "culture shock" being endured by Erik Lamela, at £30m the third of three record signings last summer and a player whose first Premier League start was that 6-0 trouncing at Manchester City. The same might apply to Roberto Soldado, at £26m, whose style of play did not appear to fit easily into the approach Villas-Boas pursued. These players needed time while their presence ensured many of the existing squad felt usurped and undervalued.

"We've worked hard to build a strong team, we have a strong team and we are happy with the signings ... We have to work with them, to bond them together into the team," the manager had said when asked if he considered this to be "his" line-up, though by that stage his response to the question had lurched into full-scale PR mode.

More revealing had been his stuttering opening. "Well, we had … obviously this … I'm not sure if I can make it public …", which hardly suggested he was about to endorse the club's transfer policy. Perhaps it was born of frustration that Bale had left, particularly as Villas-Boas himself had waived Paris St-Germain's interest over the summer apparently in the belief that the Wales forward would remain at his disposal.

More likely is that he had dropped his guard to reveal tension at the top. The 36-year-old had endorsed Franco Baldini's appointment as technical director and had even actively championed it, though any implied criticisms he had concerning the summer recruitment would, by definition, have indicated his relationship with the Italian had already become strained. Were Lamela – formerly at Roma with Baldini – Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen the manager's choices or were they imposed on him?

Those who would more readily doubt Villas-Boas's credentials might suggest this was merely the latest instance of passing the buck. At Chelsea he had apparently been undermined by the senior players. At Spurs it was any combination from the medical staff to anxious fans, under-performing first-team players to the recruitment policy. That seems harsh but there were members of the hierarchy who had tired of his perceived blame culture.

Other criticisms were more familiar: there was a stubbornness in tactics which did him few favours, an unwillingness to bend towards the more flamboyant style Spurs demand and with which his players might have been more comfortable. The high defensive line which had not worked with John Terry at Stamford Bridge did not look convincing with Michael Dawson, the last of the fit recognised centre-halves, at White Hart Lane. And, in truth, his side very rarely appeared anything but a team geared towards life on the counterattack. They had struggled to break massed opponents down last season, leaning heavily on Bale. Their 15 goals in 16 games this term suggest those issues were ongoing.

Villas-Boas still departed having secured Spurs' highest points tally of the Premier League era, and with the best win percentage, at just over 53%, of any Spurs manager in the past 20 years. Yet there was no sense of surprise at his sacking. The embarrassment endured against City, Liverpool and West Ham could not be tolerated by a chairman who had envisaged a title pursuit and, by the end, Villas-Boas cut a rather lonely figure on the sidelines as all semblance of authority seemed to drained away.

Steffen Freund, like Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea a former club stalwart appointed from on high to assist Villas-Boas, did not always appear a natural foil. Without Baldini to back him up forcibly, the manager looked isolated and, as results deteriorated, the haunted look he had worn at The Hawthorns in the spring of 2012, just before the axe fell at Chelsea, had returned.

He had arguably been fortunate to be offered such a swift route back with an elite English club in the first place. It is safe to assume that, if he ever does choose to return, it will be after reinventing his reputation abroad.

Dominic Fifield

Everton lose on-loan Gerard Deulofeu for a month with hamstring tear

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 12:24 PM PST

• Deulofeu to miss at least four matches for Everton
• Roberto Martínez had feared injury was worse

Everton will be without their talented Spanish forward Gerard Deulofeu only until January due to a hamstring injury suffered against Fulham on Saturday.

The news should come as a relief to Roberto Martínez, who had told the on-loan Barcelona player to prepare himself for "the final third of the season" after an unexpected hamstring tear in the aftermath of the 4-1 win.

However, according to a statement from Everton on Monday: "Scans have now shown the extent of the soft tissue injury in his right hamstring, which is likely to keep him out for a few weeks."

Deulofeu has developed impressively in recent weeks and had replaced Kevin Mirallas in the starting lineup against Fulham. The 19-year-old will miss Premier League games against Swansea City, Sunderland, Southampton and Stoke City over the festive period, plus the FA Cup third-round tie against Queens Park Rangers on 4 January.

Andy Hunter

Leicester bullish about quarter-final prospects against Manchester City

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 10:35 AM PST

• Manuel Pellegrini to field a weakened team
• Joe Hart will start for Manchester City

Leicester City believe they can knock Manchester City out at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening. Nigel Pearson's team are third in the Championship, a point from the automatic promotion places, with a side that includes Kasper Schmeichel, Paul Konchesky and David Nugent, all with top-flight experience.

Liam Moore, the central defender, said: "I thoroughly believe we can beat them. We're definitely not going into the game thinking that we're not going to get anything from it. We've got to see it as another game. It's a great fixture for the fans and a great fixture on Tuesday before another game at Queens Park Rangers [the leaders]. These are what players look forward to – two top-of-the-league clashes and a massive cup draw. You saw the commitment of the players [in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burnley] going forward and defending, that will be 100% the same on Tuesday. We'll give them everything we've got. If they bring their 'A' game and we do and they manage to win, then we'll hold our hands up. If I play, then I'll be giving nothing less than 100%."

Manuel Pellegrini will be without Sergio Agüero, Matija Nastasic and Micah Richards due to injuries and Joe Hart will play in a weakened team. "I think it is an important cup," the manager said. "That is why we try from the beginningto play from the beginning with a good team. If we win and the other important teams do it also, maybe the semi-finals could be with important teams. We hope we can continue with this cup and always a final in Wembley is important."

Jamie Jackson

Simunic hit with 10-match ban

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 09:40 AM PST

• Fifa acts on pro-Nazi salute and chant 'For the homeland'
• Defender addressed fans after play-off win against Iceland

The Croatia defender Josip Simunic will miss the World Cup finals in Brazil after being suspended for 10 matches by Fifa for making pro-Nazi chants at the end of last month's play-off victory over Iceland.

Simunic took up a microphone after the match and shouted to supporters: "For the homeland!" The fans responded: "Ready!" The call was used by the Croatian pro-Nazi puppet regime that ruled the state during the second world war.

Fifa said on Monday that the salute was "discriminatory and offended the dignity of a group of persons concerning ... race, religion or origin". Simunic has also been banned from entering the stadiums where Croatia will play those 10 games. Simunic previously defended his action, saying he was driven by love for his country.

"After taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, and particularly given the gravity of the incident, the committee decided to suspend the player for 10 official matches," Fifa said on Monday.

"The committee took note that the player, together with the crowd, shouted a Croatian salute that was used during the second world war by the fascist 'Ustaše' movement. As a consequence, the committee agreed that this salute was discriminatory and offended the dignity of a group of persons concerning, inter alia, race, religion or origin, in a clear breach of article 58 par. 1a) of the Fifa Disciplinary Code."

Champions League draw: Manchester City to play Barcelona, Arsenal face Bayern Munich – video

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 09:38 AM PST

Manchester City and Arsenal have been handed daunting Champions League ties against Barcelona and Bayern Munich

Zola resigns as Watford manager

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 08:49 AM PST

• Hornets currently lie 13th in the Championship
• Zola writes letter to club's fans on official website

Gianfranco Zola made the decision to resign as manager of Watford on Monday "in the best interests of the team".

He leaves the Championship club on a run of nine League games without a win and 13th in the table, eight points short of the play-off zone. It represents a major disappointment to both directors and their former manager after last season's play off final defeat to Crystal Palace.

Saturday's 1-0 home defeat against struggling Sheffield Wednesday – Watford's fifth straight reverse at Vicarage Road – appears to have been a tipping point, with Zola explaining his reasoning to supporters via an open letter posted on Watford's official website.

"First of all, this decision has not been made quickly. I mentioned after the game on Saturday that I wanted to think about things overnight and that is exactly what I have done," said the 47-year-old former Italy international. "I must place Watford Football Club first in my thoughts and it is for this reason that I have taken my action.

"I feel that it is in the best interests of the team that somebody new is given the chance to bring the success which we have all hoped for and worked very hard for. It is for a variety of reasons, and not just over one matter or one moment, that I feel this is the right decision for me, in the best interests of the club – and I know I can trust you, the supporters, to respect my decision fully."

Watford's board issued a statement saying that it was with "great sadness" and "full respect" that they accepted Zola's resignation and spoke of their "sincere gratitude" for his achievements at Vicarage Road.The former Napoli and Chelsea creator had brought a touch of glamour to Hertfordshire after being recruited by Watford's new Italian owners, the Pozzo family, during the summer of 2012.

His previous managerial experience – a two-year stint in charge of West Ham United between 2008 and 2010 before being replaced by Avram Grant – had been less distinguished but Vicarage Road regulars remained optimistic Zola was the man to lead Watford back into the Premier League.

After spending much of last season appearing poised for automatic promotion they eventually finished third, beat Leicester in the play-off semi-final and then stumbled against Palace at Wembley. "Last season was such an amazing time, for the players, the staff and the supporters," wrote Zola in his open letter to fans. "And I loved that journey. Every minute of it brought a new challenge, different experiences and a lot of learning. I have had supporters tell me that the Leicester game in May was the most amazing moment in their time supporting their club.

"I will always remember having been welcomed so warmly to this wonderful football club, to have been supported so fully and to have been able to share moments of excitement and joy that will always live with me.

"But this game does not wait and does not stop. There is always the next challenge and a new environment ahead which means nothing is ever the same.

For now, I want to wish the players, the staff, the fans and everyone else who has Watford Football Club at heart my best wishes for the future. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve this club and I am sure we will see each other again one day."

Louise Taylor

The Fiver | Shed-loads of money for old rope that would be the envy of Sven

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 08:20 AM PST

Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arriving

EVER TRIED. EVER FAILED. NO MATTER. TRY AGAIN. FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER

When news broke that André Villas-Boas had been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in the wake of yesterday's embarrassing home shellacking at the hands of Liverpool, Sky Sports News were lucky enough to have a crack team of experts on hand to discuss the matter. They had been assembled to discuss Big Cup draw, but Uefa bingo-caller Gianni Infantino and his bowls of Gianni Infantino's head-shaped balls were temporarily ignored, as Indeterminate Not Jim White Or Jeff Stelling Sky Man turned to Jamie Redknapp for an informed, carefully considered and totally impartial opinion on the Premier League's latest managerial casualty.

Pointing out that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was capable of being ruthless and had sacked AVB's predecessor even though he had been "doing a good job", Jamie was at least magnanimous enough to concede that last year the Portuguese "did well", making sure to add the obligatory caveat that he had done well "with the previous manager's team". Perhaps by pointedly failing to identify the "previous manager" in question, he thought the Fiver wouldn't remember who it was. And do you know something? He's right, because our brain is addled by years of the kind of Purple Tin abuse that would leave lesser tea-timely emails unable to remember basic … letter-based speechy-writey description things you find in the dictionary.

Of course while Jamie's thoughts on the matter might not be the most objective, it is difficult to disagree with his view that after yesterday's White Hart Lane horror show, the jig was well and truly up for a manager who has now worked 25 months out of six years' worth of contracts signed and presumably has the monster pay-offs to show for it. In the face of relentless criticism from assorted folk clearly upset that he replaced "the previous manager" and happy to stick the boot in at any opportunity, he has often found an ally in the Fiver, who has always championed the little guy. Unless that little guy's name happens to be Sepp … or Subbuteo's Shaun Wright-Phillips. But with his team having failed to beat any of the Premier League's top 10 sides this season and been gubbed 6-0 and 5-0 by Manchester City and Liverpool in the past month alone, the Fiver thinks it's probably time that AVB took his pencil and ruler, went back to his drawing board and experimented with different kinds of lines to the fabled high one that has cost him his last two jobs.

"The club can announce that agreement has been reached with head coach, André Villas-Boas, for the termination of his services," read the literary equivalent of the look on Spurs chief executive Daniel Levy's face at the final whistle yesterday afternoon. While the club's season is still eminently salvageable, it remains to be seen if the same can be said for AVB's reputation as a hot young managerial talent. For the time being, he can take comfort in a reputation for earning shed-loads of money for old rope that would be the envy of Sven.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It's true that it could maybe be better" – Manchester City suit Txiki Begiristain reflects on the club's Big Cup last-16 draw against Barcelona. The draw in full: Manchester City v Barcelona, Arsenal v Bayern Munich, Olympiakos v Manchester United, Milan v Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen v Paris Saint-Germain, Galatasaray v Chelsea, Schalke 04 v Real Madrid and Zenit St Petersburg v Borussia Dortmund.

FIVER LETTERS – STILL WITH PRIZES

"May I be the first of many to point out that Darren Leathley's pub quiz question (Friday's Fiver letters) is flawed. As the full name of Hull City is Hull City AFC, it certainly does contain a bit that one can colour in" – Dave Floyd (and 1,056 others).

"I very much enjoyed Darren's pub trivia about Hull. My own personal favourite is this: the only football team in all of the major English divisions not to have a letter from the word 'mackerel' in its name is Swindon Town. That should send the pedants into a piranha-like frenzy" – Marten Allen.

• Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver. Today's winner of our letter o'the day is: Marten Allen, who wins a copy of Tor! The Story of German Football, by Uli Hesse. We've got more prizes to give away next week in the run-up to the annual Fiver awards.

JOIN GUARDIAN SOULMATES

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BITS AND BOBS

PM David Cameron reckons England could stage a Wembley friendly against Afghanistan to mark an end to the 12-year war. "It wouldn't be as difficult as coming out here," he parped on a visit to Camp Bastion with Michael Owen. "I don't know what the politics would be," cheered Owen.

The last 32 of Big Vase will see Tottenham tackle Dnipro and Swansea City face Napoli.

Manchester City's Sergio Agüero has been ruled out for a month with calf-knack.

Rory Delap and his enormous throw-ins have called it a day. "We are honoured here at Burton that he finished his career with us," said Brewers boss Gary Rowett.

And Mike Phelan heads the shortlist for the vacant West Brom job after Steve Clarke was unceremoniously booted out of the door on Saturday. "Going into this season expectations were high, perhaps unrealistically so," sniffed Clarke.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

Goals of the weekend, starring Neymar, Nick Powell and more.

STILL WANT MORE?

The Football Weekly podcast discusses AVB and the rest of the weekend's action.

Amy Lawrence breaks down the last-16 ties in this season's Big Cup.

Sid Lowe reports how Atlético Madrid came within a whisker of finally toppling Barcelona.

Paolo Bandini gives us the lowdown on the big Rafa Benítez derby in Serie A.

Wolfsburg aim to prove that Wolves can be Easter Bunnies too, explains Raphael Honigstein.

Oh, and if it's your thing, you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace.

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SO, THAT WAS FUN

Barry Glendenning

Sacked Tottenham manager André Villas-Boas: I am not a quitter - video

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

Former Tottenham Hotspurs manager André Villas-Boas told reporters the day before being sacked he was not a quitter and expected to stay with the club

Football Weekly: André Villas-Boas sacked after Liverpool run riot at Spurs

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:51 AM PST

James Richardson is joined by Barry Glendenning, Simon Burnton and Paul MacInnes to discuss another eventful Premier League weekend and the draw for the Champions League last 16.

André Villas-Boas is given the boot at Tottenham Hotspur after Liverpool thrash them 5-0 and the pod debates where it all went wrong for him as well as admiring some spectacular attacking play by Liverpool.

Mesmeric Man City are also in the goals against Arsenal and the pod drools over their Champions League date with the mighty Barcelona as well as Bayern Munich's tie with Arsenal.

Sid Lowe has all the news from La Liga where the three-way title race is in full swing and there's also full reaction to the sacking of Steve Clarke at West Bromwich Albion and the rest of the Champions League and Europa League draw.

Leave your comments below.

Who should Tottenham Hotspur appoint to replace André Villas-Boas? – poll

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:45 AM PST

Fabio Capello, Michael Laudrup and Glenn Hoddle are the early favourites to become the new Spurs manager, but who should Danel Levy hire?

Rafael Benítez lets headlines speak for themselves as Napoli see off Inter

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:29 AM PST

On the subject of revenge, the former Inter manager wouldn't be drawn, but the 4-2 win for Napoli will have been a satisfying one

Rafael Benítez spoke, but nobody listened. After orchestrating a 4-2 win over Internazionale on Sunday night, the Napoli manager insisted that he had derived no special pleasure from beating his former club. He dismissed the notion that this victory constituted some kind of personal revenge, saying that he was focused only on his own work and still had lots of good friends with the Nerazzurri. And yet, the headline writers disagreed.

"Benítez's vendetta," screamed the front cover of Monday's edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, and Mimmo Malfitano picked up on the same thread on the pink paper's inside pages. "Revenge is served," he wrote. "[Benítez] will have celebrated internally, while the images of his sacking less than three years ago passed through his thoughts."

Technically speaking, Benítez was not actually fired by Inter in December 2010, leaving the club by mutual consent after just six months in charge. He had instigated that parting of ways himself, issuing an ultimatum to the club's then owner, Massimo Moratti, after winning the Club World Cup.

"There are three possibilities," Benítez famously said. "One is to give 100% support to the coach and buy four or five players to build a stronger team, with competition among the players, in order to keep on winning matches and trophies. Two, carry on like this without a project, without planning … The third is to speak to my agent and reach an agreement."

Inter chose the final option, Moratti's previous inclination to support Benítez through a poor start to his first Serie A campaign washed away by the owner's anger at how his manager had undermined a moment of great celebration. A compensation package was agreed and the Spaniard disappeared for what would become a two-year sabbatical from the game.

Opinions differed on Benítez's brief spell at Inter. Many criticised him for his tactical rigidity and questioned his man-management skills amid reports that he had fallen out with senior players. Certainly there were none at the club who would "kill and die" for him, as Wesley Sneijder famously promised to do for José Mourinho.

But others recognised that the manager had walked into an impossible situation, taking over a team that had just achieved something unprecedented – becoming the first Italian side ever to win the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League. Any changes he made were destined to be compared unfavourably with the ones made by his predecessor. If he made none, he would be accused of having no ideas of his own.

Inter's fans in the Curva Nord acknowledged such difficult circumstances with a banner at their first home game after his exit. It read: "Benítez: a sincere thank you from us, the only ones who always supported you." Those fans might have felt some mixed emotions after seeing him appointed by Napoli in the summer. The vacancy had only come up, after all, when Inter hired the Partenopei's existing manager, Walter Mazzarri. The Napoli owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, spun it into a PR coup, making constant references to the "international dimension" Benítez would bring, and comparing him favourably with his predecessor.

Perhaps he was right to do so. It has been suggested that Benítez's presence was key to the arrivals of big-name players such as Gonzalo Higuaín and José Callejón this summer – although the €100m burning a hole in De Laurentiis's pocket following Napoli's sale of Edinson Cavani and qualification for the Champions League also had something to do with it.

But there were conflicting sentiments for Napoli's fans, too, as Mazzarri returned to San Paolo on Sunday. This was, after all, the manager who had steered them back into Europe's top club competition for the first time in two decades, taking over a team that were lingering in the bottom-half of Serie A in late 2009 and leading them to sixth-, third-, fifth- and then second-place finishes.

Fans in the Curva B lauded him before kick-off, with a banner that read: "Mazzarri … without ink you wrote a determined and emotional film. Those who understood the ending, still applaud you today." Supporters in the Curva A took a different tack, calling him "a coward" for walking out on them. There were both whistles and applause when he stepped out on to the pitch before kick-off.

This day, though, belonged to his successor. Before Napoli's futile Champions League win over Arsenal on Wednesday, Benítez had once again been accused of tactical naivety, journalists arguing that his commitment to attacking football was costing the team points. The Partenopei had won just one of their past four league games, conceding nine goals along the way. Why not subtract one forward, adapting his 4-2-3-1 into a 4-3-2-1 that would provide better cover in midfield?

Benítez responded defiantly on Sunday by fielding just about the most attacking lineup at his disposal, with Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Callejón playing behind Higuaín up front. He was rewarded with three goals before half-time against Inter's frail back line.

First Higuaín volleyed home after a poor clearance by Yuto Nagatomo, before Mertens rifled in a brilliant drive from the edge of the penalty area at the end of a sensational one-touch passing move. An almost identical shot from the Belgian two minutes later was blocked by Inter's Samir Handanovic before Blerim Dzemaili prodded home the rebound.

The visitors found the net twice in that frantic first half, too – Esteban Cambiasso and Nagatomo each capitalising on some fine creative work by their team-mate Fredy Guarín. But hopes of an Inter comeback seemed to slip away when Ricky Álvarez was sent off for a second yellow card in the 71st minute. Callejón put the result beyond doubt not long afterwards, before Napoli's Goran Pandev, formerly of Inter, had a penalty (which Insigne was supposed to take) saved in injury time.

This was an important victory for Napoli, whose recent form had cost them ground in the title race. They remain eight points behind the league leaders, Juventus, but this win at least allowed them to put pressure on second-placed Roma, who play Milan on Monday night.

It also helped Napoli to move on at the end of an emotional week, in which they became the first team ever to collect 12 points in the Champions League's group stage and still fail to make it through to the last 16. Higuaín's tears at full-time reflected how much he and his colleagues had invested emotionally in that competition.

Napoli intend to get back into the Champions League next year, and for that reason, too, this weekend's win was important. Inter had begun the weekend just four points behind in fourth place. "It was important to extend our advantage," said Benítez. "They are a direct rival and who were nipping at our heels in the standings."

On the subject of revenge, he would not be drawn. But there was one question about his former club that he could not ignore. Asked if it was true that he had insisted on having pictures of Mourinho taken down from the walls at Inter's Appiano Gentile training facility back in 2010, Benítez responded firmly in the negative – calling such reports "a big lie".

He resisted the temptation to go further, to say more where it did not need to be said. After a win such as this one, he knew it was best just to let the headlines speak for themselves.

Talking points

• Eight league wins in a row now for Juventus, who clobbered Sassuolo 4-0 with the help of a Carlos Tevez hat-trick. It will not be enough to flush away the disappointment of their midweek loss to Galatasaray and subsequent elimination from the Champions League, but such form is certainly looking ominous for their league rivals. And while Sassuolo might not be the toughest opponents in the division, it is worth remembering that the promoted side had drawn away to Napoli and Roma. Oh, and Juve have not conceded a single goal in this current winning run.

• Tevez still has a way to go if he wants to catch Giuseppe Rossi at the top of the scorers' charts. The Fiorentina forward took his league tally to 13 goals this season – three more than the Argentinian – with a beautiful chip over Gianluca Curci to cap the Viola's 3-0 win over Bologna. He provided the assist for a rather nice goal by Borja Valero, too. Rossi insists he does not care for personal accolades. "I'm only interested in helping the team to get into the Champions League places," he said.

• Torino's ascent continued on Sunday with an impressive 2-0 win away to Udinese, a result that seems to have provoked some soul-searching on the part of their beaten opponents. "In a country where nobody ever steps aside, I am able to do it," said the Udinese manager, Francesco Guidolin, in one post-match interview, before adding in another: "I am suffering a lot. If I am the one responsible for this situation, then I am ready to take a step back." Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for the club's sporting director, Christian Giaretta, and owner Giampaolo Pozzo to throw their support behind Guidolin. They know full well how important he has been in keeping this team successful up to now despite a business model that requires the constant sales of star players.

• Lazio finally remembered how to win, Miroslav Klose scoring twice as the Biancocelesti beat Livorno 2-0 at home – their first Serie A victory since October. Will it be enough to save Vladimir Petkovic's job as manager? Only time will tell. The team owner, Claudio Lotito, suggested after the loss to Napoli at the beginning of this month that the manager had three games to prove himself. So far he has lost one (against Torino) and won another, leaving next week's game away to Verona as a potential decider – on paper at least.

Results: Catania 0-0 Verona, Chievo 0-1 Sampdoria, Fiorentina 3-0 Bologna, Genoa 1-1 Atalanta, Juventus 4-0 Sassuolo, Lazio 2-0 Livorno, Napoli 4-2 Inter, Parma 0-0 Cagliari, Udinese 0-2 Torino.

• Latest Serie A table

Paolo Bandini

Manchester City must watch defence despite big Arsenal win, says Manuel Pellegrini – video

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:02 AM PST

His side may have scored six goals against the best defence in the Premier League, but Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is wary of defensive lapses in his side's 6-3 win over Arsenal

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Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:09

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

EVER TRIED. EVER FAILED. NO MATTER. TRY AGAIN. FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER

QUOTE OF THE DAY

FIVER LETTERS – STILL WITH PRIZES

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Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:09

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

EVER TRIED. EVER FAILED. NO MATTER. TRY AGAIN. FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER

QUOTE OF THE DAY

FIVER LETTERS – STILL WITH PRIZES

JOIN GUARDIAN SOULMATES

BITS AND BOBS

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

STILL WANT MORE?

SIGN UP TO THE FIVER

SO, THAT WAS FUN

Talking points

Written by TBMU Admin

0 comments :

Post a Comment

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